Playbook

Common Mistakes in Online Food

Delivery
&
Recommendations
Table of Contents

Table of Contents 2

Introduction 3

Types of Issues 3
Missing Item 3
Wrong Item 3
Packaging and Spillage Issue 3
Quality Issue 4

Different Process Leg 4

Order Punching System 4
Order Information Flow to the Kitchen 4
Packaging of Order 4
Package Identification 4
Handover Mechanism 4

Common Mistakes in Different Process Leg 5

Order Punching System 5
Order Information Flow to the Kitchen 5
Packaging of Order 5
Package Identification 6
Handover Mechanism 6

Recommendations 6
Order Punching System 6
Order Information Flow to the Kitchen 6
Packaging of Order 7
Package Identification 7
Handover Mechanism 7

Conclusion 8
Introduction
A great customer experience has always been at the core of our business and this is not possible without
our restaurant partner’s support. We aim at providing a seamless online ordering experience to the
customers and in order to achieve that there is a need to understand the types of issues that customers
face while ordering from Swiggy platform and the steps that can be taken from the restaurant’s side to
limit these issues. Common types of issues faced by the customer at the time of online ordering is
missing items from the order, items received other than what they ordered, quality and quantity of the
food is not up to the mark, packaging of the food is not proper leading to spillage in transit. Such issues
hampers customer’s satisfaction and reduce faith in online ordering. At present, IGCC (Instant
Gratification Coupon Code) claimed/issues reported are 2.5% of the total orders Pan India and the
refunds issued to the customer due to these issues contributes to 1.5% of the GMV (Gross Merchandise
Value). It is extremely important to address these issues in order to maintain customer’s trust in online
ordering and this would eventually help in increasing online business for the restaurant. If the customer is
satisfied with the food ordered from the restaurant, he/she is bound to order from the same restaurant
again leading to building of a loyal customer towards that outlet. This document aims at highlighting the
types of issues faced while ordering food online and the common mistakes committed by the restaurant
at different process leg while preparing the food and the steps/recommendations that can be
implemented from the restaurant’s side to prevent the occurrence of such issues.

Types of Issues
This section aims to highlight the major issues faced by the customers when they go for online food
ordering. These four issues contributes to about 80% of the total IGCC claimed. Working towards solving
these problems will lead to better customer experience and also increase customer loyalty towards a
restaurant.

1. Missing Item
Missing item issue is the highest contributor of the issues reported. It forms approximately 27% of
the total IGCC given. This issue happens when the customer places order of more than one item
and does not receive all the contents of the order placed. This issue mainly occurs when there is
a gap between order communication to the kitchen or at the time of packing of order. Incidents
like missing of beverage item in the combo meal, or missing of sambhar from a dosa meal etc.
This leads to bad customer experience and poor reviews.

2. Wrong Item
Wrong item issue is reported when the customers receive items other than what they ordered.
This issue is one of the major issues reported by the customers and contributes to approximately
29% of the total IGCC given. Cases like receiving chicken biryani in place of paneer biryani or
receiving all together a different item from what they ordered like receiving sandwich in place of a
burger falls under this type of issue. It is highly important to curb such issues in order for
customer to have a good online food ordering experience.
 3. Packaging and Spillage Issue
Customers report packaging and spillage issue mostly in the case of beverages or curry/gravy
items. If an item is not properly packed along with proper taping, it can lead to spillage. Few
packaging related issues could also lead to food items getting soggy and cold, or ice cream
getting melted etc. Around 8% of the total issue contributes towards packaging and spillage
problems.

4. Quality Issue
Quality issue is a subjective claim and can vary from customer to customer. An item could be too
oily or too spicy for one customer but perfectly fine for another. There is no sure shot way to
tackle this type of claim. Restaurants can work on feedback from various customers and identify
certain type of feedback received often and work on it to increase their quality of food. This issue
contributes to around 22% of the IGCC given.

Different Process Leg

This section explains the different process leg involved from receiving of order in Swiggy App/Web to
handing over the final order to the delivery executive. Following are the five major process leg involved:

1. Order Punching System

The process of punching or recording order that is received via Swiggy App or Web in the
restaurant's system. This is an important step in the process leg as if any item is missed out or
recorded incorrectly while punching of order in the restaurant’s system then no matter how
aligned are the rest of the processes, issues like missing items and wrong items will definitely
occur.

2. Order Information Flow to the Kitchen

The task of informing the kitchen about the order details and any other special instructions (for
example-make food medium spicy, or write “Happy Birthday” on cake etc.) received from the
customers. A gap in this process could lead to erroneous order preparation and high IGCC claims
for the restaurant.

3. Packaging of Order
Once the order is prepared in the kitchen, it is required to be properly packed for the transit. This
step involves checking and putting in all the contents of the order in the final package and
applying Swiggy tape over the package to seal it.

4. Package Identification
Package identification is a process in which the contents inside the package is marked on the
package either by writing manually or attaching a slip that contains order details. This is a crucial
step in cases where there are multiple packages lying on the counter at the same time and there
is a need to identify the correct package and hand it over to the delivery executive.
 5. Handover Mechanism
Mechanism involved in handing over complete and correct order to the delivery executive. The
restaurant manager or handler hands over the packed order after confirming the credentials of the
DE and the content that needs to be handed over to him/her.

Common Mistakes in Different Process Leg

1. Order Punching System

● Missing out one or more than one item while punching in the order details in the
restaurant’s system.
● Incorrect entry of order details in the restaurant’s system.
● Accepting of order before checking whether the item ordered is available in the kitchen or
not.
● Performing various other tasks at the time of order punching. For example, entering order
details in the system and simultaneously giving information to the kitchen verbally.

2. Order Information Flow to the Kitchen

● Verbal communication of order details to the kitchen is a common mistake observed in

many restaurant outlet. This could lead to miscommunication between the person
accepting the order and communicating it and the person preparing the order. There are
high chances of items being missed out if the order contains more than one item or
incorrectly communicated in case of verbal mode.
● Manually writing of order on a slip of paper and handing it over to the kitchen. As the order
is handwritten, person writing the order may miss out on items or incorrectly writes the
order. For example, the order placed by the customer is Noodles (with egg) and the
person responsible for writing down the order writes just Noodles, so “with egg”
information has not flown down to the kitchen leading to incorrect preparation of order.
● Handwritten order details passed on to the kitchen may lead to misinterpretation of what is
written on the slip by the person preparing the order.

3. Packaging of Order

● Curry/Gravy/liquid items are not packed in spillage proof packaging leading to spillage of
food in transit.
● At peak time when orders are flowing in continuously, proper packaging is not done.
Common mistakes like improper closing of lids of the container, improper tying of
packages, incorrect taping leads to packaging issues and will give the feel that the
package has been tampered with.
● Swiggy tapes are not used in final packaging making it difficult to differentiate between
Swiggy orders from other competitor’s orders. This may lead to handing over incorrect
order to the delivery executive.
 ● Packaging boxes do not have signs explaining what is the correct way to hold the box for
instance which way is up with an arrow sign. This happens in the case of pizzas, burgers,
desserts boxes leading to messing up of pizza toppings, frosting on cakes etc.

4. Package Identification

● Many restaurant outlets skip this step altogether. This is one of the major reasons why
wrong item issue occurs.
● In most of the cases carry bags are either made of paper or polythene. Bold markers are
sometimes used to write the order number and contents inside the package. This leads to
smudging and further misinterpretation of what is written on the package causing process
errors.
● In cases where there are multiple packages of a single order, order number and package
count (for example, if there are 3 package of a single order then package count like
1/3,2/3, 3/3) is not mentioned on all the packages.

5. Handover Mechanism

● As many restaurant outlets do not have a package identification process, they tend to
handover incorrect order to DE as there is no way to identify the package being handed
over.
● Single order containing multiple packages are not kept together leading to missing out of
one or items while handing over the order to the DE.
● While handing over the order to the DE, restaurants do not inform the DE which is the
right way to hold the package in order to avoid spillage and spoilage of items that has
toppings on it like pizza topping or frosting on cakes etc.

Recommendations

1. Order Punching System

● In order to avoid missing out on items or putting in incorrect details while manually
punching/writing order details, ​printer should be installed​ which is integrated with the
Swiggy App/Web so that as soon as an online order is received, order slips consisting of
item numbers, item details and any other special instructions are printed.
● This will help in curbing missing item/wrong item issues in first stage of the process only
that happens due to incorrectly entering of order details.

2. Order Information Flow to the Kitchen

● Verbal communication of order details to the kitchen should be avoided​ as this could
lead to miscommunication and misinterpretation of item details.
 ● Instead of informing the kitchen about the order details via handwritten order slips, ​printed
order slips​ directly printed after the order is received should be used to inform the kitchen
about the items that needs to be prepared along with any special instructions.
● Another way to go about is to install ​KOT (Kitchen Order Ticket) machine​ in the kitchen.
Whenever an online order is received, order slip consisting of item count, item details, and
any other special instructions will be directly printed in the kitchen to the person preparing
the order. This removes the gap in order communication from the reception to the kitchen
altogether.

3. Packaging of Order

● All items of the order should be ​packed together in a single package​ to avoid missing
out on items.
 ● Make sure that​ container’s lids are closed properly and sealed with Swiggy tape​. The
final package should also be sealed properly with Swiggy tape.
● Person other than the one preparing the order should be responsible for packaging
of online orders so that he/she can properly pack the items and check via the order slip
that all items have been placed in the final package and sealed with the tape.
● Packaging boxes (like pizza, burgers, cake boxes) should have ​clear signs printed on
them informing how to hold the box​ and which side is up in order to avert messing up
of pizza toppings or frosting on the cake by holding it upside down.

● Spillage proof packaging​ should be used in case the order consists of any
liquid/curry/gravy items to avoid spillage in transit.

4. Package Identification

● Package identification step should not be skipped​ even if one is receiving single order
at a time. Attaching the order slip on the package not only helps the DE to identify the
package to be given to the customer in case he is carrying more than one order at a time
but also helps the restaurant to subconsciously double check that all the order items have
been added to the package.
● One should always go for​ printed order slips attachment on the package​ for package
identification. This removes the chances of writing incorrect order number and contents of
the order present inside the package.
● In case restaurants do not have the capability to print order slips then they should ​use
smudge proof thin permanent marker ​to write down the order number and contents
● There are cases in which single order consist of multiple packages. Make sure to ​write
the package number​ (for example: if an order consists of 3 packages then counting
written on the package should be like 1/3, 2/3, 3/3) so that you know how many total
packages is required to be handed over to the DE.
5. Handover Mechanism

● The person handing over the order should ​give clear instructions to the DE​ if the
package needs to be handled in a specific way. For example, the package may contain
curry/gravy/liquid items and may have to be held and kept in a certain way in order to
prevent spillage.
● Restaurants with high online order volume should assign ​a separate person (dispatcher)
the task of handing over the orders​ to the DE. The responsibilities of this person will
include:
i. Checking the order number given by the DE against the order number present with
him
ii. Checking that all the contents are present inside the package and then sealing it
with Swiggy tape before handing it over to the DE
iii. If there is more than one package for a single order, the dispatcher should number
and keep all the packages together so that it is easier for him to hand it over when
the DE arrives.
iv. Dispatcher will also be responsible for giving any special instructions to the DE
about the handling of package if required.
For restaurants with high issues of wrong/missing items, keeping a dispatcher makes
sense as the refunds issued to the customer for such cases will go down significantly and
also increase customer satisfaction and trust towards the restaurant. The cost involved in
issuing refunds to the customer can actually be used towards hiring a dispatcher who will
make sure that such cases does not occur at all.
● A ​rack with multiple counters (pigeon hole racks)​ can be fitted on the wall of the
counter and all the items of a single order can be kept together in one counter. This would
help in peak time when multiple orders consisting of multiple items are required to be
dispatched at the same time. Person handing over the order will not have to look and
collate the items of the order after the DE has come in to collect the order.
Conclusion
Consumer comes first and it is highly important to provide them with the best experience of online food
ordering. Issues like missing item/wrong item/packaging issues breaks the customer trust on the
restaurant as well as Swiggy platform and he/she may think twice while ordering again. The idea is to
have a seamless online ordering experience for the customer and this would not be possible without the
restaurant’s help. We hope that the recommendations are implemented in order to curb these issues and
take a step towards providing ultimate experience of online food ordering.